REDEMPTION time for Barangay Ginebra formally started in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday.

Japeth Aguilar played one of his best games this season with 30 points and 12 rebounds as Ginebra clobbered Terrafirma, 101-80, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

RJ Abarrientos came off the bench to score 14 points, including three triples, Scottie Thompson added a near triple-double of 11 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists and Stephen Holt contributed 10 points in the Gin Kings’ win.

Returning Jonathan Gray and Troy Rosario also stepped up for Ginebra, which is hoping for redemption after foiled cracks at glory in the Governors’ and Commissioner’s Cups.

And even with short preparation for the season-ending Philippine Cup, the Tim Cone-mentored Kings were never seriously threatened by the Dyip, who suffered their third straight loss after winning their debut against Phoenix.

Aguilar was the biggest reason for Ginebra’s successful debut.

Led by the veteran Gilas Pilipinas standout, Ginebra started strong and raced to a dominant 30-17 lead after the opening quarter.

Abarrientos, Thompson and Holt also joined Aguilar in the scoring parade as they took turns in scoring almost at will and holding off the Dyip.

It was Ginebra’s first win since losing to the TNT Tropang Giga in the Second Conference finals last month.

Aguilar and Thompson have plenty of support.

Gray finished with six points, five rebounds and two assists despite plauing only 16 minutes and 52 minutes after hurting his knee towards the end of the first half.

Reserves Maverick Ahanmisi added nine points and Nards Pinto had eight..

Terrafirma was led by rookie CJ Catapusan and Mark Nonoy with 14 and 13 points, respectively, in a losing cause.

Up next for Ginebra is San Miguel Beer, which is hoping to bounce back after a 95-98 upset loss to sister team Magnolia last Holy Wednesday.

Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.also at the Big Dome.

“Our guys are really good at moving forward and moving on. We don’t look back. We are motivated because it’s an all-Filipino and we want to get off and get our feet wet and try to get a win under our belts,” said Cone.

The Beermen also got off well from the opening gate, stringing up back-to-back victories against NLEX Road Warriors (98-89) and Meralco Bolts (110-98) before falling to Magnolia (95-98).

In the 5 p.m. curtainraiser on Friday, it will be the Blackwater Bossing against the NorthPort Batang Pier.

The scores:

Ginebra (101) — J. Aguilar 30, Abarrientos 14, Thompson 11, Holt 10, Ahanmisi 9, Pinto 8, Gray 6, Rosario 5, Mariano 4, Adamos 2, R. Aguilar 2, Cu 0, Pessumal 0.
Terrafirma (80) — Catapusan 14, Nonoy 13, Sangalang 12, Ramos 11, Pringle 9, Zaldivar 7, Ferrer 7, Melecio 4, Paraiso 2, Hernandez 1, Hanapi 0, Olivario 0.
Quarterscores: 30-17, 51-35, 75-59, 101-80.

Games Friday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — Blackwater vs. NorthPort
7:30 p.m.– Ginebra vs. San Miguel Beer

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya